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THE C - £ <j> : 

BEAUTY OF KINDNESS 



BY 
J. R. MILLER 

Author of " Silent Times," " Making the Most of Life," 
" In Perfect Peace," etc. 



" Sweet words of kindness 
Fall, — we know not where or when, 
Like the fragrance of the roses, 
Reaching far beyond our ken" 



* 



NEW YORK 

THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 

PUBLISHERS 



& 



LIBRARY or 30MGhfcii 
JUN tf'J MOO 

COPY b. 



3 



^ 






COPYEIGHT, 1905, 

By THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 



Published, Seffember, 1905. 



Nothing else we can do is more worth, while 
than kindness. There is nothing that the world 
needs more, and nothing else that leaves more real 
and far-reaching good in human lives. Some day 
we shall learn that the little deeds of love wrought 
unconsciously, as we pass on our way, are greater 
in their helpfulness, and will shine more brightly 
at the last, than the deeds of renown which we 
think of as alone making a life great. 

J. R. M. 

Philadelphia, U.S.A. 



I asked for alms ! 

He flung a coin at me 

Contemptuously. 

Not without sense of shame 

I stooped and picked it up. 

Does this fulfil 

The Masters will 

To give a cup 

Of water in his name ? 

I asked for bread ! 
He handed out to me 
Indifferently 
A ticket for some food. 
It ansxoered to my need. 
Was this the way 
On that great day 
Christ stopped to feed 
The hungry multitude ? 

When we shall wait, 
After this mortal strife. 
And to his presence go 
As suppliants indeed, 
Will it be thus 
He will on us 
In our great need 
His priceless gift bestow f 

— The Outlook. 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 



Kindness has been called the small coin of love. 
The word is generally used to designate the little 
deeds of thoughtf ulness and gentleness which make 
no noise and attract no notice, rather than large 
and conspicuous acts which all men applaud. One 
may live many years and never have the opportu- 
nity of doing anything great, anything which calls 
attention to itself, yet one may, through all one's 
years, be kind, filling every day with gentle 
thoughtf illnesses, helpful ministries, little services 
of interest, obligingness, sympathy, and small 
amenities and courtesies. Wordsworth speaks of 
such things as 

" That best portion of a good man's life, — 
His little, nameless, unremembered acts 
Of kindness and of love." 

Kindness is beautiful. It is beautiful in its 
simplicity. It usually springs out of the heart 
spontaneously. The larger things men do are pur- 
posed, planned for, and are done consciously, with 

5 



6 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

intention and preparation. Kindness as a rule is 
done unconsciously, without preparation. This 
enhances its beauty. There is no self-seeking in 
it, no doing something for effect, no desire for 
recognition or praise, no thought of reward of any 
kind. It is done in simplicity, prompted by love, 
and is most pleasing to Christ. 

Lowell in one of his poems draws a winsome 
picture of one whose life was sweet and beautiful 
with simple kindness. 

" In herself she dwelleth not, 

Although no home were half so fair ; 

No simplest duty is forgot ; 

Life hath no dim and lowly spot 
That doth not in her sunshine share. 

" She doeth little kindnesses 

Which most leave undone or despise ; 

For naught that sets our hearts at ease, 

And giveth happiness or peace, 
Is low esteemed in her eyes. 

" She hath no scorn of common things, 
And though she seems of other birth, 
Bound us her heart entwines and clings, 
And patiently she folds her wings 
To tread the humble paths of earth. 

" Blessing she is. God made her so, 
And deeds of week-day holiness 

Fall from her noiseless as the snow ; 

Nor hath she ever chanced to know 
That aught were easier than to bless." 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 1 

The world does not know how much it owes to 
the common kindnesses which so abound every- 
where. There had been a death in a happy home, 
and one evening soon after the funeral the family 
were talking with a friend, who had dropped in, 
about the wonderful manifestation of sympathy 
which their sorrow had called out. The father said 
he had never dreamed there was so much love in 
people's hearts as had been shown to his family by 
friends and neighbors. The kindness had come 
from all classes of people, from many from whom it 
was altogether unexpected, even from entire strang- 
ers. Neighbors with whom his family had never 
exchanged calls had sent some token of sympathy. 
" It makes me ashamed of myself," said the good 
man, "that I have so undervalued the good-will 
of those about me. I am ashamed also that I have 
so failed myself in showing sympathy and kind- 
ness to others about me in their sorrow and suf- 
fering." 

No doubt it takes trouble or sorrow to draw out 
the love there is in people's hearts. We all feel 
gently even toward a stranger who is in some 
affliction. Crape on the door of a neighbor we 
do not know at all makes us walk by the house 
more quietly as we think of those within, in their 
grief. It may require trouble in many cases to 
call out the kindly feeling, but the feeling is there 



8 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

all the time. No doubt there is unlovingness in 
some human hearts, but sorrow makes us all kin. 
The majority of people have in them a chord of 
sympathy which does not fail to respond when 
another's grief touches it. 

It has been noted that among the poor there is 
even more neighborliness shown than among the 
rich. The absence of conventionality makes the 
life very simple. The poor mingle together more 
closely and familiarly in their neighborhood life. 
They nurse each other in sickness and sit with each 
other in time of sorrow. Their mutual kindnesses 
do much to lessen their hardships and to give 
zest and happiness to their lives. 

The ministry of kindness is unceasing. It keeps 
no Sabbaths — it makes every day a Sabbath. It 
fills all the days and all the nights. In the true 
home it begins with the first waking moments in 
the morning, in pleasant greetings, in cheerful 
good wishes, and then it goes on all day in sweet 
courtesies, in thoughtful attentions, in patience, 
in quiet self-denials, in obligingness and helpful- 
ness. Out in the world, it goes everywhere with 
happy cordiality, its gladness of heart, its uplift 
for those who are discouraged, its strengthening 
words for those who are weary, its sympathy with 
sorrow, its interest in lives that are burdened and 
lonely. 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 9 

Some of us, if we were to try to sum up the total 
of our usefulness would name a few large things 
we have done, — the giving of money to some be- 
nevolent object, the starting of some good work 
which has grown into strength, the writing of a 
book which has made us widely known, the win- 
ning of honor in some service to our community 
or to our country. But in every worthy life that 
which has really left the greatest measure of good 
has been its ministry of kindness. No record of it 
has been kept. People have not talked about it. 
It has never been mentioned in the newspapers. 
But where we have gone, day after day, if we have 
simply been kind to every one, we have left bless- 
ings in the world which in their sum far exceed 
the good wrought, the help imparted, and the cheer 
given, by the few large, conspicuous things we have 
done, of which we think and speak with pride. 

" A friendly smile, and love's embering spark 
Leaps into flame and illumes the dark ; 
A whispered c Be brave,' to our fellow-men, 
And they pick up the thread of hope again. 
Thus never an act, or word, or thought, 
But that with unguessed importance is fraught ; 
For small things build up eternity, 
And blazon the way for a destiny." 

It is remarkable that our Divine Master, in tell- 
ing us of the coming judgment, makes the final 
destiny of all men to depend upon whether in this 



10 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

world they have exercised or have not exercised 
the grace of kindness. For we are not done with 
life as we live it. We shall meet it all again, not 
only the great things we do but the little things. 
Even our lightest words take their place among 
the fixed things of life and will be recalled in the 
judgment. Jesus said, " Every idle word that men 
shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the 
day of judgment." He does not say every wrong 
or evil word, but every useless, purposeless, or 
frivolous word. The meaning is that the smallest 
things in life, both the evil and the good, will be 
taken account of in the judgment. 

In the great separation that will take place on 
that Day of days, the dividing line will be the 
attitude of men to Christ, how they have regarded 
him, how they have treated him in this world. 
But the revealing of this relation of men to Christ, 
it will be seen in that day, is not made by their 
creeds, by what they say about Christ, but by their 
lives, by what they do, by the spirit they show. 

To those who are on his right hand, the King 
says, "I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I 
was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a 
stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye clothed 
me ; I was sick, and ye visited me ; I was in prison, 
and ye came unto me." That is, the King had once 
been in need — hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 11 

sick — and these had shown him kindness. Thus 
they had proved themselves the King's friends. 

To those on the left hand, the King says, "I 
was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat ; I was 
thirsty, and ye gave me no drink ; I was a stranger, 
and ye took me not in ; . . . sick, and in prison, and ye 
visited me not." That is, when the King was 
suffering, or in need, or sick, they had neglected 
him. They had not treated him cruelly or roughly, 
had done nothing to harm him or injure him ; they 
had simply failed to show him the kindness which 
he needed. Neglecting love's duties is a sin quite as 
serious and as far-reaching in its consequences as the 
direct doing of things that are wrong in themselves. 

The meaning of all this is that always and every- 
where Christ is the touchstone of human lives. 
Wherever he goes, men are infallibly divided by 
him into two classes. Wherever he appears, sep- 
aration always follows. There are those who are 
attracted to him, drawn about him, and become his 
friends and companions. Then there are others 
who are repelled and driven from him, sent away 
by the mere power of holiness in him. Their 
thought of Christ, their feeling toward him, divides 
men in this world. 

The question, " What think ye of Christ ? How 
do you regard him ? " tells instantly where each 
one belongs. The final separation will be no hap- 



12 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

hazard one. A painting in Italy represents Solo- 
mon as rising on the morning of the Kesurrection 
and looking bewildered and confused, not knowing 
where he belonged, whether among the saved or the 
lost. But there will really be no such uncertainty, 
in any case, among those who arise from their 
graves. The deciding of the question of future 
destiny will not be deferred so late. It is settled 
in this world — we are settling it as we go on, these 
plain, common, uneventful days. Our treatment 
of Christ as he comes to our doors and asks for 
our love, our obedience and service, is fixing our 
destiny. The final separation of the people of all 
nations will not be an arbitrary dividing. Each man 
will go to his own place, the place he has chosen 
for himself, and for which his own life has prepared 
him. Every day is a day of judgment for us. 

The righteous were surprised when the King 
told them of the kindness he had received from 
them. They did not remember ever having seen 
him or having had the opportunity of doing for 
him any of the kindnesses he said he had received 
from them. " When saw we thee hungry, and fed 
thee ? or athirst, and gave thee drink ? And when 
saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in ? or 
naked, and clothed thee ? And when saw we thee 
sick, or in prison, and came unto thee ? " 

For one thing, those who love their fellow-men 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 13 

and are genuinely interested in them are not them- 
selves conscious of the one-thousandth part of the 
ministries of kindness they perform. Like their 
Master they continually go about doing good. 
They are always helping somebody. Every one 
they meet carries away from them some cheer, 
some encouragement, some new inspiration for 
brave and beautiful living. Other people note the 
value of their lives and speak of their great useful- 
ness. But they themselves are unaware of the 
beneficence of their ministry. It is said in Eevela- 
tion of the redeemed in heaven who serve Christ 
and see his face, that " his name shall be on their 
foreheads." Dr. Henry G. Weston has called atten- 
tion to the fact that, being on the forehead, the shin- 
ing of the divine glory is visible to all who look on 
them, but will be unseen by themselves. No man 
sees his own face. The suggestion is very beauti- 
ful. The unconsciousness of the radiance on the 
face is part of the splendor — being aware of it 
would dim the brightness. When one is aware of 
the beauty or refinement marked on his face much 
of the beauty or refinement is gone. Self -conscious- 
ness also mars spiritual loveliness. When a man 
knows that he is humble, he is no longer humble. 
When a Christian becomes aware that he is kind 
and useful, much of the charm of his kindness and 
usefulness is gone. 



14 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

" The best men, doing their best, 
Know peradventure least of what they do." 

We can think, therefore, of the righteous as in 
their lowliness and humility not being conscious of 
the splendor and worthiness of the service they had 
rendered. They even thought there must be some 
mistake in what the King said to them, for they 
were not aware that they had ever done anything 
so noble and beautiful as that, — they could not 
remember ever having been kind to the King. But 
there was no mistake. The King has eyes to see 
in lowly deeds of kindness a beauty which no other 
eyes can see. He sees the heart, the motive, the 
spirit that animates the deeds, and therefore he 
beholds in the most commonplace acts a divine 
splendor. There are self-denials and sacrifices that 
love makes for the sake of others which shine with 
the glory of heaven as the Master sees them, and 
yet have no splendor in them to other eyes, they 
are so common. 

Many of the achievements of men which are now 
regarded as great, when they were wrought in life's 
common ways did not appear to have anything re- 
markable in them. Their authors did not them- 
selves dream of the far-reaching importance of 
what they had done, or of the fame which in after 
ages would gather about their names. Many dis- 
coverers and inventors would be bewildered if they 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 15 

were to come back to earth to-day and find their 
names perpetuated in halls of fame and see how 
large a place the things they did now fill in the 
world's life. A poet suggests to us that Michael 
Angelo did not dream what grandeur he was build- 
ing when he did the great work on St. Peter's 
which all the world now honors. 

" The hand that rounded Peter's dome, 
And grained the aisles of Christian Rome, 
Wrought in a sad sincerity ; 
Himself from God he could not free ; 
He builded better than he knew ; 
The conscious stone to beauty grew." 

Many of those to whom the world owes the most 
wrought obscurely, in poverty, ofttimes, sacrificing 
themselves, toiling, struggling, suffering, in order 
to perfect their invention or complete their dis- 
covery. They saw nothing great or splendid in 
what they were doing. In many cases, their lives 
seemed failures, for they were only pioneers and 
achieved nothing themselves. Others came after 
them and carried to perfection what they had 
striven in vain to accomplish. To-day the things 
they dreamed of but never realized are among the 
world's finest achievements, its most useful inven- 
tions. If they are told in the judgment that these 
great things were wrought by them they will answer 
that they never saw them. It will be true, too, for 



16 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

what they saw were only the merest beginnings, 
the first rude attempts, from which the finished 
product came only after years of experimenting. 
No wonder they cannot recognize in the splendid 
results the little that their hands actually wrought. 
Yet all this is really their work, was born in their 
brain, and made possible only through their dream 
and self-denying devotion. 

So it is of the deeds of kindness that good peo- 
ple do. Those who do them never think of them* 
as worthy of commendation, much less of record. 
They are plain people, with only commonplace 
gifts, with no aspiration for fame, with no thought 
that anything they do is of any special importance, 
or will ever be heard of again. Yet in many of 
these lowly ministries Christ sees the beginning of 
something that will shine at length in heavenly 
splendor. A simple word of cheer puts hope into 
a discouraged heart, saves a life from despair, and 
starts it on a career of worthy service. 

A sailor boy brought home a fuchsia to his 
mother from some foreign cruise. She put it in a 
window-box and it grew, and by its beauty drew 
attention to itself. Soon there were fuchsias in 
other neighboring windows and in countless gar- 
dens. Thus the one little plant which the boy 
brought over seas multiplied itself and spread 
everywhere. If on the judgment day the Master 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 17 

shows this boy fuchsias growing in gardens, in 
window-boxes, in conservatories in many lands, 
and says, " You planted all these ; all this beauty 
is from your hand," the boy will be overwhelmed 
with surprise. He never saw these thousands of 
blooming plants. "Lord, when did I plant all 
these ? " But we understand it. His hand brought 
one little plant, in love, from a foreign land, and 
the one has multiplied into all this vast harvest of 
loveliness. 

So it is also with the little kindnesses we do. 
They may be very small in themselves, but they 
are the beginnings of long successions of good or 
beautiful things. No one can tell what the end 
will be of any least act of love, any smallest good 
thing done in the name of Christ. It will be an 
astonishment to many a lowly believer in Christ 
when at the end of time he is shown the full and 
final results of all that he did during his life. He 
will not recognize the splendid records of good 
deeds for which he receives commendation and re- 
ward, as truly his. " When did I do these fine and 
great things?" he will say. Yet all this wide- 
spread good is really the harvest from his sowing. 
If he had not done the one little thing, none of this 
would ever have had existence. 

There is another and yet more wonderful inter- 
pretation of the value of kindness done in love for 



18 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

Christ, in our Lord's answer to the astonishment of 
the righteous. They were surprised when they 
were told by the King that they had fed him 
when he was hungry, given drink to him when he 
was thirsty, and cared for him when he was sick 
and a stranger. "Lord, when saw we thee hun- 
gry, and fed thee ? or athirst, and gave thee drink ? 
And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee 
in ? or naked, and clothed thee? And when saw we 
thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee ? " To 
their wonder his answer was, " Inasmuch as ye did 
it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, 
ye did it unto me." 

One explanation of these words is that Christ's 
own are so dear to him that whatever kindness is 
done to any of them, even the least, he accepts as 
done to himself. This is the experience of all true 
friendship. If a friend of yours is in need any- 
where, sick or a stranger far from you, and one 
cares for him, shows him hospitality, supplies his 
wants, delivers him in danger, you appreciate the 
sympathy and interest as if you yourself had re- 
ceived the help. 

Then throughout the New Testament we are 
taught that Christ is represented in this world by 
his followers and friends. Even in the Old Testa- 
ment we have hints of this identification of God 
with his people, as in the words, "In all their 



THE BE A UTY OF KINDNESS. 19 

affliction, he was afflicted." It is made still more 
clear in the New Testament after the Son of God had 
become flesh, thus entering into our humanity. He 
and his followers are one. They are members of 
his body. He that receiveth one of them receiveth 
him. Saul was engaged in a relentless persecution 
of the friends of Jesus, and the glorified One 
whom he met in the way asked him, " Why perse- 
cutest thou me ? " And when the amazed persecu- 
tor asked, " Who art thou, Lord ? " he said, " I am 
Jesus whom thou persecutest." He who harms 
one of Christ's harms Christ himself. Likewise he 
who anywhere shows kindness to one who belongs 
to Christ shows the kindness to Christ himself. 
"For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to 
drink, because ye are Christ's, verily I say unto 
you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." He who 
warms and feeds a lonely, hungry heart warms 
and feeds Christ. As Browning says : — 

" God who registers the cup 

Of mere cold water for his sake 
To a disciple rendered up, 

Disdains not his own thirst to slake 
At the poorest love was ever offered." 

This teaching helps us to understand the words 
of the King to the righteous on the judgment day. 
In the hungry ones they had fed, in the thirsty to 
whom they had given cups of water, in the sick 



20 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

and suffering to whom they had shown kindness, 
they had ministered to the King himself. These 
needy and suffering ones whom they had served in 
his name were his friends. They represented him. 
Those who received them received him. Those who 
relieved their distress relieved his, for in all their 
sufferings he suffers, and in their joy he rejoices. 

The teaching of the New Testament is that the 
love of Christ is shown, shown unmistakably, in 
love of our fellow-men. Jesus himself gave as 
the test of discipleship, not love for himself in the 
abstract, not membership in the church, not the 
believing of a certain set of doctrines, but — "By 
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if 
ye have love one to another." This love of men is 
essential. There is no such thing as love for God 
which does not also include love to man. St. John 
puts the truth in a very strong statement, "He that 
loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot 
love God whom he hath not seen." We cannot 
love God apart from men. If we truly love Christ 
our hearts will be full also of love for others, and 
this love will show itself in ministries of kindness * 
wherever there is need. 

Some of the beautiful Christmas legends tell 
stories of children sent by the Christ in his place. 
To an orphanage door, one Christmas eve, says a 
German story, came a little boy, cold and hungry, 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 21 

knocking for admission. The children were at 
their supper and according to their custom had set 
a chair at the table for Jesus. When this boy was 
brought in they gave him the empty chair. " Jesus 
could not come himself/' they said, " so he sent this 
boy in his place." This was precisely true. Jesus 
could not come, for he was no longer a little child 
on the earth suffering from cold and hunger, need- 
ing human love and care. He did indeed send the 
boy in his place, asking for him just what would 
have been gladly done for himself, if he had been 
out in the storm that bitter winter night. In receiv- 
ing the child, the children received Christ himself. 
If they had turned him away, it would have been 
the same as if they had turned the Master away. 

H. Isabel Graham has written a beautiful story 
in the form of a legend of a monk who knelt con- 
tinually in his cell and prayed to be fashioned into 
the likeness of the cross. He had made a vow that 
none should see his face until he had looked upon 
the face of Christ. So his devotions were unbroken. 
The birds sang by his cell window and the children 
played without, but the monk heeded not either the 
children or the birds. In the absorption of his soul 
in its passion for the Christ, he was oblivious to all 
earthly things. One morning he seemed to hear a 
spirit-voice saying that his prayer to see the Blessed 
One should be answered that day. He was very 



22 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

glad and made special preparations for the coming 
of the vision. There was a gentle knocking at his 
door, by and by, and the voice of a child was heard 
pleading to be fed and taken in. Her feet were 
cold, her clothing was thin. But the monk was so 
intent on the coming of the vision that he could 
not pause to minister to any human needs. Even- 
ing drew on, the place became dreary, the tapers 
burned low. Why was the vision so long in ap- 
pearing ? Then, w T ith bitter grief, the monk heard 
the answer that the vision had already come, had 
lingered at his door, and then, unwelcomed, had 
sobbed and turned away. Jesus had come in a 
little child, cold and hungry, had knocked, and 
called, and waited, and, grieved, had gone. The 
monk had been expecting some shining splendor, 
like the burning bush, or the transfiguration. The 
vision had come as a little child in need, seeking 
help, and he had not recognized it, and had refused 
to receive it. 

We have a desire to see Christ. We long for 
visions of his beauty and glory. We wait in our 
place of prayer, hoping that he will reveal himself 
in some theophany. We sit at the Holy Supper 
and plead with him to show himself to us in some 
celestial brightness. We go apart into some sacred 
retreat, and pray and meditate, thinking he will 
come to meet with us there. But we are much 

L.0FC. 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 23 

more likely to have him come to us in some human 
need to which we may minister, in some sorrow 
which we may comfort, or in some want which we 
can supply. "I was hungry, and ye gave me to 
eat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was 
a stranger, and ye took me in ; ... I was sick, and ye 
visited me. . . . Inasmuch as ye did it unto one 
of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it 
unto me." 

This suggests to us the splendor of even the low- 
liest ministries wrought in the name of Christ. We 
are serving Christ himself when we show kindness 
to one of his. There is a beautiful story of a sol- 
dier, who was afterwards known as St. Martin. One 
day in the depth of winter, a beggar, thinly clad, 
asked an alms for the love of God. A poet tells 
the story thus : — 

" Famished he seems, and almost spent, 
The rags that cover him worn and rent. 
Crust nor coin can the soldier find ; 
Never his wallet with gold is lined ; 
But his soul is sad at the sight of pain ; 
The sufferer's pleading is not in vain. 

" His mantle of fur is broad and warm, 
Armor of proof against the storm ! 
He snatches it off without a word ; 
One downward pass of the gleaming sword, 
And cleft in twain at his feet it lies, 
And the storm- wind howls 'neath the frowning skies. 



24 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

" * Half for thee ' — and with tender art 
He gathers the cloak round the beggar's heart — 

I And half for me,' and with jocund song 
In the teeth of the tempest he strides along, 
Daring the worst of the sleet and snow, 
That brave young spirit, so long ago. 

11 Lo, as he slept at midnight's prime, 
His tent had the glory of summer time ; 
Shining out of a wondrous light, 
The Lord Jesus beamed on his dazzled sight. 

I I was the beggar,' the Lord Jesus said, 
As he stood by the soldier's lowly bed ; 

1 Half of thy garment thou gavest me : 
With the blessing of heaven I dower thee.' 
And Martin rose from the hallowed tryst 
Soldier and servant and knight of Christ." 

This is not fanciful. Thus indeed does the 
Master come to us in the suffering and needy ones 
whom we meet in our common days. " Inasmuch 
as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even 
these least, ye did it unto me." If Jesus came to 
us in his own person, as he used to come to the 
people of Galilee, and if we knew it to be he, how 
eager we would be to minister to him ! If he were 
hungry, we would share with him our last piece of 
bread. If he were thinly clad, we would take off 
our warm garments and put them on him. We 
shall not have the opportunity to minister to him 
in person, in these ways, just now, for he is no 
longer on the earth in need ; but in serving those 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 25 

lie sends to us to be relieved or comforted or helped, 
we will serve the Christ himself. 

While we thus have a glimpse of the splendor of 
kindness done in the name of Christ, we see also 
the danger there is in turning away from any hu- 
man need or suffering that may appeal to us. It 
may be the Christ we are passing by and neglecting. 
The King shall say to those on his left hand, " I was 
hungry, and ye did not give me to eat ; I was 
thirsty, and ye gave me no drink ; I was a stranger, 
and ye took me not in ; naked, and ye clothed me 
not ; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. . . . 
Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, 
ye did it not unto me." 

It may seem a small matter to pass by a human 
need, to fail to show a kindness that we have op- 
portunity of showing, to refuse to relieve a distress 
that appeals to us. We may say it is not our affair, 
but if it is brought to our attention in any way, it 
probably is our affair. We may say that the person 
is not worthy, but our Father makes his sun to rise 
on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the 
just and the unjust. The Master himself did not 
confine his doing good to those who were worthy, 
and we are to continue his ministry in the world. 
In passing by any one who is in need, we may pass 
by the Christ. 

This does not mean that we are to give indis- 



26 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

criminately to all who ask us for alms. No Chris- 
tian duty requires more care, more self-restraint, 
more wisdom, than that of relieving and helping 
others. No doubt money should be given only in 
rare cases. Thoughtful men and women soon learn 
that great harm is done by the over-helping of 
others. It may not be our duty to give any finan- 
cial help even to those who ask for it, or to relieve 
directly the physical needs that make their appeal 
to us, but this we may be sure of, that every one 
who comes before us in need, in distress, in sorrow, 
or in any want or trouble, should be helped by us 
in some way. 

So far as we know, Jesus never gave any money 
— he did not have money to give. Yet he was the 
most munificent giver that ever lived among men. 
There was no life that ever touched his that was 
not helped by him in some way. At the Beautiful 
Gate of the temple the lame man who asked alms 
of Peter and John did not receive what he sought. 
These men had no silver or gold to give. But the 
poor man was not left unhelped. " Silver and gold 
have I none," said Peter, " but what I have that give 
I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, 
walk." Then he took him by the right hand, and 
raised him up. The man was helped in two ways. 
His lameness was healed by divine power. Then 
Peter gave him his hand, showing human sympathy 
and imparting strength. 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 27 

We are very sure that Peter helped the lame 
beggar in a far wiser and better way than if he had 
put a coin into his hand. This, at the best, could 
only have supported his mendicancy a little longer, 
leaving him no better off in any way, no stronger, 
no less helpless, no more hopeful, than he was at 
the beginning. He would have had to return to 
his place at the gate to-morrow. But the help 
that Peter gave him made him able to take his 
place among men and care for himself. He did 
not need to be carried any longer to the temple 
morning by morning, to sit and beg all day. The 
truest help we can give to any one is to make 
him strong so that he will not need to be helped 
any more. It is better loving to make a man able 
to bear his own burdens, than it is to take his bur- 
den off his shoulder and bear it for him. We prove 
truer friend to a man when we encourage and in- 
spire him to overcome his timidity and shrinking 
and become brave and strong, than if in gentle 
pity we nurse him" along in his weakness. A 
man's best friend always is he who makes him 
do his very best. 

But what we are to remember is that we are 
never to turn away from us a human need that 
appeals to us. In our modern Christian civiliza- 
tion begging is in no case to be encouraged. Pro- 
vision is made in other ways for those who are in 



28 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

want. Yet nevertheless are we to treat the beggar 
in a Christian way, as Jesus would. We are not 
to look at him with contempt. We may not rudely 
slam our door in his face. We may not forget 
that he is a brother, a child of God, and that 
Christ died for him. He has human feelings 
which will be hurt by unkindness and would be 
wondrously comforted by courtesy and kindness. 

Turgenieff in one of his little parables tells of 
meeting on the way a beggar, who held out his 
greasy hand for alms. Turgenieff searched all his 
pockets, but had no money, no food, nothing what- 
ever, to give the man. He said to him, "I am 
sorry, brother, that I have nothing for thee." The 
beggar's face brightened, and he said, "That is 
enough. Thank you." To be called " brother " 
was better than any alms would have been. We 
may not give money to the mendicant on the street, 
but we may show him kindness, the spirit of 
brotherhood, and that will be worth more to him 
than the largest alms. It will gladden and cheer 
his heart, and bring to him a little of the warmth 
of the love of Christ. 

There come to us continually those who are 
weak, unable to keep up in the march. They may 
be physically weak, or they may only be faint- 
hearted. There is a way of seeming to help them 
which will do them harm. There is a kind of sym- 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 29 

pathy which only makes such persons less strong, 
less able to go on with life's duties and struggles. 
We enter into their weakness, but do not lift them 
up out of it to any new strength. We listen to their 
story of discouragement and express our sorrow at 
the things which make life so hard for them, and 
sympathize with them, but say not a word to 
hearten them. We sit down with those who are 
enduring grief, and condole with them, but give 
them no comfort, saying not a word to lighten 
their gloom or to turn their thoughts toward hope. 
The only true help in such experiences is that 
which puts courage into men's hearts, and lifts 
them out of themselves. 

What the Master wants us to do for those he 
sends to us in need or distress is to give them 
strength. If they come to us hungry, we are to 
feed them, that they may continue on their way 
with vigor and zest. If they are sick, we are to 
visit them. But we need to be sure that our visits 
shall really do them good, cheer their loneliness, 
and leave songs in their hearts. If they are 
strangers who come to us, we are to show them 
hospitality. All these acts of kindness suggest 
the imparting of joy and encouragement, so that 
those to whom we minister may overcome the 
hardness of the way, and become more than con- 
querors through him that loved them. 



30 THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 

So we should seek to realize the meaning of our 
neglect to show kindness to any one who comes to 
us in need or in distress. We may be neglecting 
Christ himself. It will be sad if sometime we 
should hear the King say, " It was I who came to 
your door that day. I was heavy-hearted. I was 
weary and faint with my long journey and my 
heavy burden. I was yearning for sympathy, for 
love, for a word of encouragement. I came to you 
and ye did — nothing. You shut your door upon 
me. You looked at me with bitterness and sent 
me away unhelped." When we are about to close 
our door upon any one who needs help or craves 
love and cheer in Christ's name, let us beware lest 
we may turn away Christ himself. 

This representation of the way the account for 
judgment day is made up shows us how full all 
life is of Christ. Even our smallest acts have 
reference to him. The kindnesses we do are done 
to him. When we neglect any one, it is Christ we 
neglect. We cannot get away from his presence, 
go where we may. Everywhere there is somebody 
who needs love, hospitality, a visit in a sick 
room, a cup of the cold water of kindness, or a 
word of encouragement. And it is Christ. He is 
always coming to us needing something. Twice 
Jesus asked for water — once at the well, when he 
said to the woman who was about to draw water, 



THE BEAUTY OF KINDNESS. 31 

"Give me drink/' and again on his cross, when 
he said, " I thirst." But now every day he comes 
to us with like longings. Physical thirsts are not 
the only thirsts. Not all people about us are poor, 
hungry, or homeless, but there are few we meet 
any day who do not need something — cheer, hope, 
a brother's hand, companionship, friendship, joy. 
In every one of these the King comes to us, saying, 
"Inasmuch as you show kindness to the least of 
these, ye show it unto me." Let us never fail him 
so that he shall say, " I turned to you in my need, 
and you did nothing for me." 

This parable of the judgment shows us how full 
of splendor is the simplest, plainest life of the 
quietest, commonest days. The righteous thought 
there must have been some mistake — they could 
not remember having done such deeds of kindness 
to the King. But they had done these things to 
his friends, and he counted them as done to him. 

We must not miss the significance of this — some 
of us think our lives dreary and commonplace, but 
here we see what splendor is veiled in the simplest 
kindnesses. In the light of the judgment day we 
shall see the tasks we fret over to-day, the serv- 
ing of others, which sometimes grows irksome, 
blossoming into divine beauty and radiancy. 



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